Welsh Journals

THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF LATE CELTIC BRITAIN AND IRELAND, c.400-1200 A.D. By Lloyd Laing. Methuen, 1975. Pp. 451, 32 pis., 151 figs. £ 11.00 (hardback), £ 4.50 (paperback). This book was written as an extension of lectures given to first-year undergraduates at Liverpool University, and it is designed as a com- prehensive, illustrated synthesis for students. It must, therefore, be judged as such. Part 2, 'The material culture of the Early Christian Celts', includes a helpful attempt to come to grips with technology and the equip- ment and implements of Celtic society. The student who wishes to know what the difference is between a 'rosette pin' and a 'proto-hand-pin', or between a 'plano-convex or bowl-shaped' spindle whorl and a 'bun- shaped' spindle whorl, will here find the answer, and in view of the use of such terminology by archaeologists the information will be welcome. 'Filigree' and 'Millefiori' are defined, and items of ornamental metalwork are described one by one. In short, this is a valuable source of reference. Part 1, 'The regional field archaeology of late Celtic Britain and Ireland', surveys Celtic Britain and Ireland area by area but the style is a little pedestrian and the problem of how much (not always sound) historical detail to include has obviously been a difficult one. The major problem for Dr. Laing has been not only that his archaeological material is un- evenly distributed in time but that it is also unevenly distributed in space, so that it is impossible, for example, to deal with Wales in the same way as Scotland. Viking settlement in Scotland, that is to say, can be studied: Viking settlement in Wales less so. Another obvious problem is that historical information and archaeological evidence may not always synchronize. The book would probably have benefited from less 'history'. Much that is mentioned is only mentioned in passing, particularly in Part 1, and Dr. Laing needed all the space he could obtain for his archaeological and artistic material. Because the author had resolved to present a balanced synthesis of the archaeological material for the early middle ages in the Celtic West, he apparently 'resisted the temptation to make in these pages a personal statement about what seems to me the most important aspects of the archaeology of the period' (p. xxvii). This is a pity, for such a personal approach would undoubtedly have provided touchstones for the reader from which to survey the mass of information and, further, would have enlivened the text. But, given the reluctance of archaeologists to produce up-to-date syntheses of the archaeological material for the early middle ages in Britain, despite the fact that a standard work may now be fifty years or so out of date, Dr. Laing as a young scholar is to be congratulated on his resolve to run the gauntlet to meet the need and Celticists may be grateful that he selected the Celtic West. It says much for his achievement on a relatively popular level that a leading archaeologist, commenting upon the book, after 'careful combing' could only find one secular settlement site of the period which the author had omitted. It may be said in conclusion that Dr. Laing's Liverpool students are fortunate to have him: and the hope